JP2018050251A - Monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitoring system capable of reducing power consumption.SOLUTION: A monitoring system (1) includes: a monitoring device (2) that monitors an object (X) and transmits a monitoring result of the object (X); and a receiving device (3) that receives the monitoring result of the object (X). The monitoring device (2) includes: a first sensor (4); and a second sensor (5) the power consumption of which is smaller than that of the first sensor (4). The first sensor (4) carries out the monitoring of the object (X) only when the second sensor (5) determines that the monitoring of the object (X) by the first sensor (4) is necessary.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring system.

  In recent years, IoT technology has become widespread that allows an object to have a communication function to connect to the Internet or communicate with each other. By applying the IoT technology, it is possible to check the state of an object at a remote place by transmitting the object monitoring result to an external terminal. Techniques for performing such monitoring and monitoring result notification are described in the following patent documents.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator having a function of monitoring the number of eggs in stock and confirming that they are out of stock. Patent Document 2 discloses a home security system capable of confirming a locked state.

JP 2015-21705 A (published February 2, 2015) JP 2012-164035 A (released on August 30, 2012)

  In order to newly introduce the egg inventory quantity monitoring system disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to obtain a new refrigerator. In addition, in order to newly introduce the technology for confirming the locking state disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to newly introduce a home security system. As described above, a new introduction of the monitoring technique as described above requires the introduction of a new system, and costs and labor for the introduction arise, so that the burden is large.

  In order to solve the above problem, it is only necessary to have a monitoring system that can be retrofitted to an existing system. However, since the existing system is not designed in consideration of a monitoring system to be retrofitted, it may not have a power supply for supplying the monitoring system, and the monitoring system may not be operated. For this reason, in order to introduce a retrofit monitoring system into an existing system, a battery-driven monitoring system is required. In order to drive a monitoring system with high power consumption by a battery, a large amount of batteries are required, and thus power saving of the monitoring system is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to realize a monitoring system with low power consumption.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a monitoring system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a monitoring device that performs monitoring of an object and transmission of the monitoring result of the object, and reception that receives the monitoring result of the object. A monitoring system comprising: a first sensor; and a second sensor that consumes less power than the first sensor, wherein the second sensor is the object by the first sensor. The first sensor monitors the object only when the second sensor determines that the object needs to be monitored by the first sensor. Do.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, the operation time of the other sensor having higher power consumption than that of one sensor can be suppressed to be short, so that it is possible to provide a monitoring system that suppresses power consumption during operation as a whole.

It is a figure which shows the implementation outline | summary of the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the mode at the time of operation. It is the schematic which shows the monitoring method of the egg by the 1st ranging sensor which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the mode of the opening-and-closing monitoring of the refrigerator by the illumination intensity sensor which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the schematic diagram which shows the equivalent circuit schematic of an illumination intensity sensor. It is an operation | movement chart of the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the figure which applied the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention to the implementation outline of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention, and the mode at the time of operation. It is the schematic which shows the mode of the monitoring of the thumb turn by the 2nd ranging sensor which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the equivalent circuit schematic of the received radio wave measuring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention, and the figure which shows the relationship between the intensity | strength of the received radio wave from a state receiver, and the communication distance with a state receiver. It is an operation | movement chart of the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the figure which applied the monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention to the implementation outline of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. However, the configurations and combinations thereof described in the following embodiments are merely illustrative examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to the configurations unless specifically described. In the drawings described below, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof is omitted.

Embodiment 1
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

(Outline of Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the implementation of the monitoring system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the object X shown in FIG.

  The monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a monitoring device 2 that monitors the object X and transmits the monitoring result of the object X, and a receiving device 3 that receives the monitoring result of the object X. The monitoring device 2 includes a first sensor 4 and a second sensor 5 that consumes less power than the first sensor 4.

  The first sensor 4 can monitor various states of the object X. The state of the object X monitored by the first sensor 4 can be appropriately designed depending on the type of the object X or the first sensor, the purpose of monitoring the object X, or the like.

  The object X is placed in the environment Y around the object. Here, the environment Y around the object indicates not only the state of the object X but also the receiving device 3, the first sensor 4, or the environment where these are placed.

  The second sensor 5 determines whether or not it is necessary to monitor the object X by the first sensor 4 by monitoring the environment Y around the object described above. When the second sensor 5 determines that monitoring of the object X is necessary from the state of the environment Y around the object, the second sensor 5 may transmit an instruction to monitor the object X to the first sensor 4.

  The first sensor 4 monitors the object X only when the second sensor 5 determines that the object X needs to be monitored. The instruction of monitoring the object X by the first sensor 4 may be performed by the second sensor 5 or may be performed by a transmission device (not shown) inside the monitoring device 2.

  The monitoring device 2 determines whether to transmit the monitoring result of the object X to the receiving device 3 from the monitoring result of the object X by the first sensor 4. When the monitoring device 2 determines that it is necessary to transmit the monitoring result of the object X, the monitoring device 2 transmits the monitoring result of the object X by the first sensor 4 to the receiving device 3. The receiving device 3 notifies the user of the receiving device 3 of the monitoring result of the object X received from the monitoring device 2.

  For transmission of the monitoring result, various conventionally known methods such as short-range wireless communication can be employed. The transmission of the monitoring result may be performed by a transmission device (not shown) inside the monitoring device 2 or may be performed by the first sensor 4.

(Effect of monitoring system)
Since the first sensor 4 monitors the object X only when the object X needs to be monitored, the power consumption of the first sensor 4 can be suppressed as compared with the case where the first sensor 4 always monitors the object X. The second sensor 5 that determines whether or not the object X needs to be monitored by the first sensor 4 has lower power consumption than the first sensor 4. For this reason, compared with the case where the 1st sensor 4 always monitors the object X, the monitoring apparatus 2 can suppress power consumption as a whole.

  As described above, the monitoring device 2 with reduced power consumption as a whole can be realized, and the monitoring device 2 capable of battery driving can be provided. For this reason, it is possible to configure the monitoring system 1 that can be easily retrofitted to an existing system in which it is difficult to draw in the power supply for the monitoring device 2.

[Embodiment 2]
It will be as follows if other embodiment of this invention is described based on FIGS.

(Egg inventory quantity monitoring system)
The present embodiment relates to a monitoring system that monitors the inventory quantity or quantity of objects displayed in a predetermined space. In particular, in this embodiment, a monitoring system that monitors the number of eggs in stock stored in the refrigerator will be described as an example.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of the monitoring system 11 for monitoring the number of eggs X1 in stock stored in the refrigerator 19 in the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the monitoring system 11, and FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing how the monitoring system 11 monitors the egg X1.

  The monitoring system 11 in this embodiment includes a monitoring device 12 and a receiving device 13 as shown in FIG. The monitoring device 12 includes a first distance measuring sensor 14, an illuminance sensor 15, and a microcomputer 16.

  The first distance measuring sensor 14 is a distance measuring sensor for monitoring the number of eggs X1 to be monitored. The illuminance sensor 15 can measure the illuminance around the illuminance sensor 15, that is, the illuminance in the refrigerator 19, in order to determine whether or not the number of eggs X <b> 1 needs to be monitored by the first ranging sensor 14. It is a sensor.

  The microcomputer 16 has a function of transmitting a monitoring instruction to the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the illuminance sensor 15, and receiving a monitoring result from the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the illuminance sensor 15. Have. Furthermore, the microcomputer 16 may have a function of transmitting the monitoring result to the receiving device 13 outside the monitoring device 12.

  The receiving device 13 receives the monitoring result transmitted from the monitoring device 12 and notifies the user of the receiving device 13. The receiving device 13 may be a portable terminal such as a smartphone. Or it is good also as the receiving apparatus 13 by introduce | transducing the application which notifies the information received from the monitoring apparatus 12 to the existing terminal.

  FIG. 2B illustrates a state in which the monitoring system 11 is used for monitoring the egg X1 in the refrigerator 19. As shown in FIG. 2B, the first distance measuring sensor 14 measures the distance between the egg X <b> 1 stored in the refrigerator 19 and the first distance measuring sensor 14. The illuminance sensor 15 measures the illuminance in the refrigerator 19 and detects whether the interior lamp 17 installed in the refrigerator 19 is turned on or off.

(First ranging sensor)
Next, a specific method for monitoring the number of eggs X1 in stock by the first distance measuring sensor 14 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A shows a state in which three eggs X1 are arranged between the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the wall 18. Here, the wall 18 may be, for example, an exterior of the refrigerator 19 or a side wall of a tray in which the eggs X1 are stored.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the first distance sensor 14 transmits electromagnetic waves or sound waves from the transmitter 31 of the first distance sensor 14 toward the egg X1. The generated electromagnetic wave or sound wave is reflected by the egg X1 closest to the first distance measuring sensor 14 and enters the receiving unit 32 of the first distance measuring sensor 14.

  The first ranging sensor 14 measures the time from when the electromagnetic wave or sound wave transmitted from the transmitting unit 31 is transmitted until it is incident on the receiving unit 32, whereby the first ranging sensor 14 and the egg X1. The distance may be measured. Alternatively, the first distance measuring sensor 14 may measure the incident angle of the electromagnetic wave or the sound wave incident on the receiving unit 32 and measure the distance between the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the egg X1 using triangulation. Good. With the above operation, the first ranging sensor 14 measures the number of eggs X1 in stock from the measured distance between the first ranging sensor 14 and the egg X1.

  In FIG. 3A, since many eggs X1 exist between the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the wall 18, the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the egg X1 are close to each other. At this time, the first distance measuring sensor 14 determines that there is a large stock of eggs X1 because the measured distance is close. The first distance measuring sensor 14 may transmit information that there is a sufficient inventory of the egg X1 to the microcomputer 16.

  In FIG. 3B, there is only one egg X1 on the wall 18 side between the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the wall 18. For this reason, the 1st ranging sensor 14 and the egg X1 will leave | separate rather than (a) of FIG. At this time, the first distance measuring sensor 14 determines that there is only one stock of the egg X1 because the measured distance is long. The first ranging sensor 14 may transmit information that the inventory of the egg X1 is low to the microcomputer 16.

  In FIG. 3C, the egg X1 does not exist between the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the wall 18. For this reason, the electromagnetic wave or sound wave transmitted from the first distance measuring sensor 14 is reflected on the wall 18. Therefore, the first distance measuring sensor 14 determines that the egg X1 is not in stock because the measured distance is the distance between the first distance measuring sensor 14 and the wall 18. The first ranging sensor 14 may transmit information that the egg X1 is out of stock to the microcomputer 16.

  With the above-described operation, the first distance measuring sensor 14 can monitor the number of eggs X1 in stock. Here, when the stock quantity of the egg X1 in the refrigerator 19 increases or decreases, it is considered that it is immediately after the door of the refrigerator 19 is opened or closed for adding or removing the egg X1. Therefore, if the time for monitoring the first distance measuring sensor 14 is limited to immediately after the door of the refrigerator 19 is opened and closed, it is considered that power consumption by the first distance measuring sensor 14 can be suppressed.

(Illuminance sensor)
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of confirming opening / closing of the door of the refrigerator 19 using the illuminance sensor 15 in the present embodiment. 4A shows a state in which the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which the door of the refrigerator 19 is open. FIG. 4C shows an equivalent circuit diagram of the illuminance sensor 15.

  As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the monitoring device 12 and the interior lamp 17 exist in the refrigerator 19. In addition, although not particularly illustrated, the egg X1 and other articles arranged on a tray or the like may be stored in the refrigerator 19.

  The interior lamp 17 is an illumination that is turned on or off according to the opening and closing of the door of the refrigerator 19. When the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed, the interior lamp 17 is turned off for power saving. When the door of the refrigerator 19 is open, the interior lamp 17 is lit so that the user can easily take out the articles in the refrigerator 19.

  In (a) of FIG. 4, since the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed, the interior lamp 17 is turned off. For this reason, the light from the interior lamp 17 does not enter the illuminance sensor 15 provided in the monitoring device 12. On the other hand, in FIG. 4B, since the door of the refrigerator 19 is open, the interior lamp 17 is lit. For this reason, the light from the interior light 17 enters the illuminance sensor 15 provided in the monitoring device 12.

  Next, an example of a method in which the illuminance sensor 15 measures the light incident on the illuminance sensor 15 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4C, the illuminance sensor 15 includes a photodiode 33, a resistor 34, and an illuminance sensor microcomputer 35.

  The cathode of the photodiode 33 and the resistor 34 are connected in series, and the cathode of the photodiode 33 is further connected to a port 36 of the illuminance sensor microcomputer 35. Further, the anode of the photodiode 33 not connected to the resistor 34 is connected to the power source, and one end of the resistor 34 not connected to the photodiode 33 is connected to the ground.

  When the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed and the light from the interior lamp 17 does not enter the illuminance sensor 15, the photodiode 33 is released and the port 36 is connected to the ground via the resistor 34. For this reason, the illuminance sensor microcomputer 35 receives a Low signal. On the other hand, when the door of the refrigerator 19 is open and light from the interior lamp 17 enters the illuminance sensor 15, the photodiode 33 is short-circuited and the port 36 is connected to the power source. For this reason, the illuminance sensor microcomputer 35 receives a High signal.

  The illuminance sensor microcomputer 35 determines that the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed when the received signal is Low, and determines that the door of the refrigerator 19 is open when the received signal is High. From the above operation, the illuminance sensor 15 can determine whether the door of the refrigerator 19 is opened or closed.

  In the illuminance sensor 15, when the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed and no light is incident from the interior lamp 17, the photodiode 33 is in a released state, so that no current flows between the power source and the grant. For this reason, the power consumption of the illuminance sensor 15 when the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed is relatively low.

  In the present embodiment, the illuminance sensor microcomputer 35 determines whether to open or close the door of the refrigerator 19. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the microcomputer 16 may determine whether to open or close the door of the refrigerator 19 by connecting the photodiode 33 to the microcomputer 16 outside the illuminance sensor 15.

(Operation of the monitoring system 11)
Based on the above operation, the operation of the monitoring system 11 in the present embodiment monitoring the number of eggs X1 in stock and notifying the user if necessary will be described with reference to the operation chart of FIG. The operation chart of FIG. 5 represents the state of the door of the refrigerator 19, the interior lamp 17, the detection signal of the illuminance sensor 15, the microcomputer 16, the first distance measuring sensor 14, and the receiving device 13 in order from the top. Time has passed.

  First, it is assumed that the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed and the microcomputer 16, the first distance measuring sensor 14, and the receiving device 13 are in a standby state. Since the interior lamp 17 is turned off, the detection signal of the illuminance sensor 15 is Low. The illuminance sensor 15 transmits to the microcomputer 16 that the detection signal is Low. When the detection signal of the illuminance sensor 15 is Low, the microcomputer 16 continues the standby state and does not give a monitoring instruction to the first distance measuring sensor 14. For this reason, since the 1st ranging sensor 14 also continues a standby state and does not monitor, the power consumption is suppressed as a whole.

  Next, when the door of the refrigerator 19 is opened, the interior lamp 17 is turned on, and the illuminance sensor 15 transmits a high detection signal to the microcomputer 16. The microcomputer 16 that has received the High detection signal from the illuminance sensor 15 shifts to a monitoring instruction preparation state. At this stage, the microcomputer 16 has not yet sent a monitoring instruction to the first distance measuring sensor 14.

  Suppose further that time has passed and the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed. At this time, the interior lamp 17 is turned off, and the illuminance sensor 15 transmits a Low detection signal to the microcomputer 16. When the microcomputer 16 in the monitoring instruction preparation state receives the Low detection signal from the illuminance sensor 15, the microcomputer 16 transmits an instruction to the first distance measuring sensor 14 so as to monitor the number of eggs X1 in stock.

  The first distance measuring sensor 14 that has received the instruction from the microcomputer 16 starts monitoring the number of eggs X1 in stock based on the above-described operation. The monitoring result of the inventory number of eggs X1 obtained by the first distance measuring sensor 14 is transmitted from the first distance measuring sensor 14 to the microcomputer 16. The first distance measuring sensor 14 that has transmitted the monitoring result shifts to a standby state.

  The microcomputer 16 that has received the monitoring result from the first distance measuring sensor 14 transmits the monitoring result to the receiving device 13. The receiving device 13 that has received the monitoring result from the microcomputer 16 notifies the user of the receiving device 13 of the monitoring result. The microcomputer 16 that has transmitted the monitoring result and the receiving device 13 that has notified the monitoring result then shift to the standby state. With the above operation, the user can confirm the number of eggs X1 in the refrigerator 19 from the monitoring result notified by the receiving device 13. Note that the above notification may be performed only when the number of eggs X1 is small or disappears.

  Further, the microcomputer 16 monitors the number of eggs X1 in stock with the first distance measuring sensor 14 when the door of the refrigerator 19 is opened, the interior lamp 17 is turned on, and a high detection signal is received from the illuminance sensor 15. An instruction may be transmitted to do so. In this case, the microcomputer 16 closes the door of the refrigerator 19, turns off the interior lamp 17, and receives a Low detection signal from the illuminance sensor 15. Send instructions to confirm. The first ranging sensor 14 may transmit the information on the number of eggs X1 in stock at the time of determining the number of eggs X1 in stock to the microcomputer 16 as the final state of the eggs X1.

(Effect of the monitoring system 11)
In the operation of the monitoring system 11 in the present embodiment, during the period when the first ranging sensor 14 is monitoring, the first ranging sensor 14 sends the monitoring result to the microcomputer 16 immediately after the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed. Until sending. For this reason, the monitoring system 11 consumes less power than when monitoring with a distance measuring sensor is always performed.

  Furthermore, the period when the detection signal of the illuminance sensor 15 is High is immediately after the door of the refrigerator 19 is opened and immediately after the door of the refrigerator 19 is closed. Since the power consumption of the illuminance sensor 15 is low when the detection signal of the illuminance sensor 15 is Low, the power consumption of the entire monitoring device 12 can be suppressed.

  Therefore, the monitoring system 11 in this embodiment can suppress the power consumption of the entire monitoring system 11 by suppressing the power consumption in the monitoring device 12. Furthermore, when the power consumption of the monitoring system 11 is suppressed to a certain extent so that the monitoring system 11 can be driven by a battery, the monitoring system 11 can be introduced into an existing system by retrofitting. For this reason, it is possible to reduce burdens such as cost and labor required for introducing a new monitoring system.

  In general, refrigerators that turn on and off the interior lamps are widely used with the opening and closing of the refrigerator doors. For this reason, the monitoring system 11 in this embodiment can be widely applied to the existing refrigerator having the interior lamp as described above.

  In this embodiment, the monitoring system 11 that monitors the number of eggs in the refrigerator is taken as an example. However, the monitoring target of the monitoring system 11 is not limited to this, and it is possible to monitor the number and amount of various articles displayed at a predetermined position. Furthermore, as long as the illuminance of the space where the object is displayed changes according to the opening and closing of the space where the object is displayed, the monitoring system 11 of this embodiment can be introduced. For example, the monitoring system 11 may monitor the number or quantity of articles stored in a safe or a warehouse.

(Outline of Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a diagram in which an implementation outline of the monitoring system 11 in the present embodiment is applied to the implementation outline of FIG.

  Comparing Embodiment 1 and this embodiment, the object X to be monitored corresponds to the egg X1, and the environment around the object X corresponds to the illuminance Y1 in the refrigerator 19. The first sensor 4 corresponds to the first distance measuring sensor 14 that monitors the number of eggs X1 in stock, and the second sensor 5 corresponds to the illuminance sensor 15 that monitors the illuminance Y1 in the refrigerator 19.

[Embodiment 3]
It will be as follows if other embodiment of this invention is described based on FIGS.

(Sum turn monitoring system)
The present embodiment relates to a monitoring system that monitors the locked state of a door. In particular, in the present embodiment, a monitoring system that monitors whether the key of the entrance door is locked by monitoring the state of the thumb turn attached to the key of the entrance door is taken as an example.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the monitoring system 21 for monitoring the state of the thumb turn X2 attached to the key of the entrance door in the present embodiment. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the monitoring system 21, and FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram showing how the monitoring system 21 monitors the thumb turn X2.

  The monitoring system 21 according to the present embodiment includes a monitoring device 22 and a receiving device 23 as shown in FIG. The monitoring device 22 includes a second distance measuring sensor 24, a radio wave measuring device 25, and a microcomputer 26.

  The second distance measuring sensor 24 is a distance measuring sensor for monitoring the state of the thumb turn X2 to be monitored. The radio wave measuring device 25 receives the radio wave from the receiving device 23 and receives the radio wave in the radio wave measuring device 25 in order to determine whether the second distance sensor 24 needs to monitor the state of the thumb turn X2. It is a radio wave measuring device that measures intensity.

  The microcomputer 26 transmits a monitoring instruction to the second distance measuring sensor 24 and the radio wave measuring device 25, and receives monitoring results from the second distance measuring sensor 24 and the radio wave measuring device 25. It has a function. Further, the microcomputer 26 may have a function of transmitting the monitoring result to the receiving device 23 outside the monitoring device 22.

  Similarly to the receiving device 13 of the second embodiment, the receiving device 23 receives the monitoring result transmitted from the monitoring device 22 and notifies the user of the receiving device 23. The receiving device 23 may be a portable terminal such as a smartphone. Or it is good also as the receiver 23 by introduce | transducing the application which notifies the information received from the monitoring apparatus 22 to the existing terminal.

  FIG. 7B shows a state in which the monitoring system 11 is used for monitoring the state of the thumb turn X2. As shown in FIG. 7B, the second distance measuring sensor 24 can measure the state of the thumb turn X2 by measuring the distance between the tab of the thumb turn X2 and the second distance measuring sensor 24. .

(Second distance measuring sensor)
Next, a specific method for monitoring the state of the thumb turn X2 by the second distance measuring sensor 24 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the thumb turn X2 has a knob X3 for rotating the thumb turn X2 to change the locked state of the door. In the present embodiment, when the longitudinal direction of the thumb X3 of the thumb turn X2 is horizontal, the door key is locked. When the longitudinal direction of the thumb X3 of the thumb turn X2 is vertical, the door key is locked. Is in an unlocked state. Actually, the relationship between the locked state and the knob X3 may be reversed.

  (A) of FIG. 8 is a figure which shows a mode that the 2nd ranging sensor 24 monitors with respect to thumb turn X2 when the door key is locked. As shown in FIG. 8A, the second distance measuring sensor 24 transmits electromagnetic waves or sound waves from the transmitting portion 41 of the second distance measuring sensor 24 toward the thumb X3 of the thumb turn X2. The generated electromagnetic wave or sound wave is reflected by the knob X3 and enters the receiving unit 42 of the second distance measuring sensor 24.

  The second distance measuring sensor 24 measures the time from when the electromagnetic wave or sound wave transmitted from the transmitting unit 41 is transmitted until it enters the receiving unit 42, or the incident angle of the electromagnetic wave or sound wave incident on the receiving unit 42. To do. By comparing the measured time or incident angle with the time or incident angle measured in a state where the door is locked in advance, the second distance measuring sensor 24 determines the state of the thumb turn X2 and the state of the door locked. Can be detected.

  In FIG. 8A, the value measured by the second distance measuring sensor 24 approximately matches the value measured in advance with the door locked. From this, the second distance measuring sensor 24 determines that the longitudinal direction of the knob X3 of the thumb turn X2 is the horizontal direction and the door is locked.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 8B, the value measured by the second distance measuring sensor 24 differs greatly from the value measured in a state where the door is locked in advance because the angle of the knob X3 of the thumb turn X2 is different. From this, the second distance measuring sensor 24 determines that the longitudinal direction of the knob X3 of the thumb turn X2 is the vertical direction and the door is unlocked.

  Through the above-described operation, the second distance measuring sensor 24 can monitor the locked state of the door. Here, when it is necessary to monitor the locked state of the door, it is considered that the user of the monitoring system 21 and the door are largely separated, such as when the user of the monitoring system 21 goes out. Therefore, if the time for monitoring the second distance sensor 24 is limited to when the user of the monitoring system 21 is far away from the door, the power consumption by the second distance sensor 24 can be suppressed. .

  In addition, the monitoring system 21 notifies the user of the receiving device 23 of the monitoring result of the door key. That is, the user of the monitoring system 21 can know the monitoring result of the door key by carrying the receiving device 23 when going out. Therefore, the distance between the user of the monitoring system 21 and the door can be obtained by measuring the distance between the receiving device 23 and the door.

(Radio wave measuring device)
FIG. 9 measures the distance between the receiving device 23 and the door using the radio wave measuring device 25 in this embodiment, and determines whether or not the distance between the user of the monitoring system 21 and the door is sufficiently large. It is a figure for demonstrating a method. 9A is an equivalent circuit diagram of the radio wave measuring device 25, and FIG. 9B is a relationship between the distance between the receiving device 23 and the door and the intensity of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25. It is a graph which shows.

  The radio wave measuring device 25 of this embodiment receives a radio wave transmitted from the receiving device 23 and measures the reception intensity of the radio wave. Thereby, the radio wave measuring device 25 can measure the distance between the receiving device 23 and the monitoring device 22 having the radio wave measuring device 25, that is, the distance between the receiving device 23 and the door.

  The radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25 from the receiving device 23 may be a radio wave necessary for the receiving device 23 to perform wireless communication with the microcomputer 26 of the monitoring device 22. In order to measure the distance between the receiving device 23 and the door, the radio wave measuring device 25 may receive a radio wave different from the radio wave for wireless communication from the receiving device 23.

  It is considered that the strength of these radio waves decreases as the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25 increases. That is, the radio wave measuring device 25 measures the received intensity of the received radio wave, and determines that the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25 is sufficiently long if the received intensity is equal to or less than a certain threshold value.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the radio wave measuring device 25 in the present embodiment includes an antenna 43, a parallel resonance circuit 44, a diode bridge 45, a smoothing capacitor 46, and a comparator 47.

  The radio wave measuring device 25 receives the radio wave transmitted from the receiving device 23 through the antenna 43. From the received radio wave signal, the parallel resonance circuit 44 extracts only a signal near a specific frequency. The extracted signal is converted into a substantially DC signal by the diode bridge 45 and the smoothing capacitor 46 and input to the inverting input terminal of the comparator 47 fed from the power supply of the monitoring device 22.

  The non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 47 is input with a DC threshold voltage having a certain intensity. For this reason, when the intensity of the signal input to the inverting input terminal is higher than the intensity of the threshold voltage, the comparator 47 outputs a Low signal to the output terminal. Conversely, when the intensity of the signal input to the inverting input terminal is lower than the intensity of the threshold voltage, the comparator 47 outputs a High signal to the output terminal.

Next, a method for determining whether or not the distance between the reception device 23 and the radio wave measurement device 25 is sufficiently large from the radio wave received by the radio wave measurement device 25 will be described with reference to FIG. The graph of FIG. 9B represents the strength of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25, the horizontal axis is the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25, and the vertical axis is the radio wave intensity. Represents the strength of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25
As shown in FIG. 9B, the strength of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25 is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25 from the Friis transmission formula. For this reason, when the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25 is less than the distance D, the intensity of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25 is higher than the intensity of the threshold voltage input to the comparator 47. . For this reason, the comparator 47 outputs a Low signal to the output terminal.

  On the other hand, when the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25 exceeds the distance D, the intensity of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25 is lower than the intensity of the threshold voltage input to the comparator 47. For this reason, the comparator 47 outputs a High signal to the output terminal.

  The intensity of the threshold voltage input to the comparator 47 is determined such that the distance D is a distance at which it can be determined that the receiver 23 is sufficiently separated from the radio wave measuring device 25. For this reason, the radio wave measuring device 25 can determine whether or not the receiving device 23 is sufficiently separated from the radio wave measuring device 25 based on a signal output from the output terminal of the comparator 47.

  Since the antenna 43, the parallel resonant circuit 44, the diode bridge 45, and the smoothing capacitor 46 of the radio wave measuring device 25 are all passive circuits, they do not consume power, and the comparator 47 has very low power consumption. For this reason, the radio wave measurement device 25 consumes less power during operation than the second distance sensor 24.

  Note that the signal output from the output terminal of the comparator 47 may be transmitted to the microcomputer 26 as it is, and the microcomputer 26 may determine the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25. The radio wave measuring device 25 may further include a microcomputer, and the distance between the receiving device 23 and the radio wave measuring device 25 may be determined, and the determination result may be transmitted to the microcomputer 26.

(Operation of the monitoring system 21)
Based on the above operation, referring to the operation chart of FIG. 10, the operation in which the monitoring system 21 in this embodiment monitors the state of the thumb turn X2 and notifies the user of the door locking state as necessary will be described. To do. The operation chart of FIG. 10 shows, in order from the top, the position of the receiving device 23, the intensity of the radio wave received by the radio wave measuring device 25 from the receiving device 23, the determination result of the radio wave measuring device 25, the state of the microcomputer 26, the second distance measuring sensor. 24 represents the state of the receiving apparatus 23 and the state of the receiving apparatus 23, and the horizontal axis represents time.

  First, it is assumed that the receiving device 23 is inside the door, for example, inside the entrance. At this time, the received radio wave intensity of the radio wave measuring device 25 is strong, and the determination result of the radio wave measuring device 25 is Low. The radio wave measuring device 25 transmits to the microcomputer 26 that the determination result is Low. When the determination result of the radio wave measuring device 25 is Low, the microcomputer 26 continues the standby state and does not give a monitoring instruction or the like to the second distance measuring sensor 24. For this reason, since the second distance measuring sensor 24 also continues in the standby state and does not perform monitoring, power consumption is reduced as a whole.

  Next, it is assumed that the user carrying the receiving device 23 goes outside the door, for example, outside the entrance. Even in this case, immediately after coming out of the door, the received radio wave intensity of the radio wave measuring device 25 does not fall below the threshold voltage, and the determination result of the radio wave measuring device 25 remains Low. For this reason, the microcomputer 26 and the second distance measuring sensor 24 continue the standby state.

  Furthermore, it is assumed that the user who possesses the receiving device 23 is further away from the entrance, and the receiving device 23 and the entrance are sufficiently separated by a distance D or more. At this time, the received radio wave intensity of the radio wave measurement device 25 is lower than the threshold voltage, and the determination result of the radio wave measurement device 25 changes to High. When the microcomputer 26 receives the High determination result from the radio wave measuring device 25, the microcomputer 26 transmits an instruction to the second distance measuring sensor 24 so as to monitor the state of the thumb turn X2.

  The second distance measuring sensor 24 that has received the instruction from the microcomputer 26 starts monitoring the state of the thumb turn X2 based on the above-described operation. The monitoring result of the state of the thumb turn X2 obtained by the second distance measuring sensor 24 is transmitted from the second distance measuring sensor 24 to the microcomputer 26. The second distance measuring sensor 24 that has transmitted the monitoring result shifts to a standby state.

  The microcomputer 26 that has received the monitoring result from the second distance measuring sensor 24 transmits the monitoring result to the receiving device 23. The receiving device 23 that has received the monitoring result from the microcomputer 26 notifies the user of the receiving device 23 of the monitoring result. The microcomputer 26 that has transmitted the monitoring result and the receiving device 23 that has notified the monitoring result then shift to the standby state.

  With the above operation, the user can check the locked state of the door from the monitoring result notified by the receiving device 23. The above notification may be performed only when the key is not locked. When notification of forgetting to lock the door is made, for example, if the distance D is set to about 10 m, the user can immediately return to the entrance and lock the door.

  Further, when the user is concerned about the locked state of the door at a far away place, the user operates the receiving device 23 so that the receiving device 23 is added to the monitoring device 22 with respect to the thumb turn X2. May be instructed to perform monitoring. As a result, the user can check the locked state of the door at any time from a remote location.

(Effect of the monitoring system 21)
In the operation of the monitoring system 21 in the present embodiment, during the period when the second ranging sensor 24 is monitoring, the second ranging sensor 24 displays the monitoring result after the holder of the receiving device 23 is sufficiently away from the door. This is until transmission to the microcomputer 26. For this reason, the monitoring system 21 consumes less power than when monitoring is always performed by the distance measuring sensor.

  Furthermore, the power consumption of the comparator 47 of the radio wave measuring device 25 is low, and the other components of the radio wave measuring device 25 are passive elements and do not consume power. For this reason, since the power consumption of the radio wave measuring device 25 is relatively low, the power consumption of the entire monitoring device 22 can be suppressed.

  Therefore, the monitoring system 21 in this embodiment can suppress the power consumption of the entire monitoring system 21 by suppressing the power consumption in the monitoring device 22. Furthermore, when the power consumption of the monitoring system 21 is suppressed to a certain extent so that the monitoring system 21 can be driven by a battery, it is possible to introduce the monitoring system 21 into an existing system by retrofitting. For this reason, it is possible to reduce burdens such as cost and labor required for introducing a new monitoring system.

  Note that doors that lock a door by rotating a thumb turn knob are generally widely used. For this reason, the monitoring system 21 in this embodiment can be widely applied to the existing door having the thumb turn as described above.

(Outline of Embodiment 3)
FIG. 11 is a diagram in which an implementation outline of the monitoring system 21 in this embodiment is applied to the implementation outline of FIG. 1.

  Comparing the first embodiment with the present embodiment, the object X to be monitored corresponds to the thumb turn X2, and the environment around the object X corresponds to the distance Y2 between the monitoring device 22 and the receiving device 23. The first sensor 4 corresponds to a second distance measuring sensor 24 that monitors the state of the thumb turn X2, and the second sensor 5 receives the monitoring device 22 by measuring the intensity of radio waves from the receiving device 23. It corresponds to the radio wave measuring device 25 that measures the distance Y2 to the device 23.

[Summary]
The monitoring systems 1, 11, and 21 according to the aspect 1 of the present invention include monitoring devices 2, 12, and 22 that perform monitoring of the objects X, X1, and X2 and transmission of monitoring results of the objects X, X1, and X2, The monitoring systems 1, 11, and 21 include receiving devices 3, 13, and 23 that receive and notify the monitoring results of the objects X, X 1, and X 2. Sensors 4, 14, and 24, and second sensors 5, 15, and 25 having lower power consumption than the first sensors 4, 14, and 24, and the second sensors 5, 15, and 25 are the first sensors. 4, 14, and 24 are used to determine whether or not the objects X, X 1, and X 2 are to be monitored, and the first sensors 4, 14, and 24 are connected to the second sensors 5, 15, and 25, respectively. Monitoring of the objects X, X1, and X2 by the first sensors 4, 14, and 24 Only when it is determined that the main, to monitor the object X · X1 · X2.

  According to said structure, since the operation time of the other sensor whose power consumption is higher than one sensor can be kept short, it is possible to provide a monitoring system that suppresses power consumption during operation as a whole.

  Furthermore, when the power consumption of the monitoring system is suppressed to a certain extent so that the monitoring system can be driven by a battery, it is possible to introduce the monitoring system into an existing system by retrofitting. For this reason, it is possible to reduce burdens such as cost and labor required for introducing a new monitoring system.

  In the monitoring system 11 according to the aspect 2 of the present invention, in the aspect 1, the first sensor 14 monitors the number of the displayed objects X1, and the second sensor 15 displays the object X1. The illuminance of the space may be monitored, and the necessity of monitoring the number of the objects X1 by the first sensor 14 may be determined according to the illuminance.

  According to the above configuration, the monitoring system can monitor the number of objects only at the timing when the objects are taken out from the space where the objects are displayed. For this reason, it is possible to provide a monitoring system capable of notifying that the number of objects in stock has been reduced or out of stock while suppressing power consumption.

  In the monitoring system 11 according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the first sensor 14 may be a distance measuring sensor, and the second sensor 15 may be an illuminance sensor.

  According to said structure, a monitoring system can be constructed | assembled using only a sensor of a simple structure. For this reason, the burden at the time of newly introducing a monitoring system is reduced.

  In the monitoring system 21 according to the aspect 4 of the present invention, in the aspect 1, the first sensor 24 monitors the state of the thumb turn X2 attached to the key of the door, and the second sensor 25 includes the receiving device 23. Receiving the radio wave transmitted from the second sensor 25, monitoring the reception intensity of the radio wave in the second sensor 25, and determining whether or not the first sensor 24 needs to monitor the state of the thumb turn X2 according to the reception intensity. May be.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a monitoring system that monitors a key only when a locked state of the key is necessary. For this reason, a monitoring system for monitoring keys can be provided with reduced power consumption.

  In the monitoring system 21 according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the receiving device 23 notifies the state of the key according to a result of monitoring the state of the thumb turn X2 by the first sensor 24. Also good.

  According to said structure, it is possible to notify the locking state of a door with respect to the user of the monitoring system in the position away from the door. Therefore, it is possible to provide a monitoring system that can notify the user that the key has been forgotten to be closed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

1, 11, 21 Monitoring system 2, 12, 22 Monitoring device 3, 13, 23 Receiver 4 First sensor 5 Second sensor 14 First distance sensor 15 Illuminance sensor 16, 26 Microcomputer 24 Second distance sensor 25 Radio wave measuring device

Claims (5)

A monitoring system comprising a monitoring device that monitors an object and transmits the result of monitoring the object, and a receiving device that receives the result of monitoring the object,
The monitoring device includes a first sensor and a second sensor that consumes less power than the first sensor,
The second sensor performs monitoring for determining whether the object needs to be monitored by the first sensor,
The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor monitors the object only when the second sensor determines that the monitoring of the object by the first sensor is necessary. The first sensor monitors the number of the displayed objects,
The said 2nd sensor monitors the illumination intensity of the space where the said object is displayed, and judges the necessity of monitoring the number of the said objects by the said 1st sensor according to the said illumination intensity. The monitoring system described in.   The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a distance measuring sensor, and the second sensor is an illuminance sensor. The first sensor monitors the state of the thumb turn attached to the door key,
The second sensor receives a radio wave transmitted from the receiving device, monitors a reception intensity of the radio wave in the second sensor, and monitors a state of the thumb turn by the first sensor according to the reception intensity. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein necessity is determined.   The monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the receiving device notifies the state of the key according to a result of monitoring the state of the thumb turn by the first sensor.

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